


Further Horizons

by one_more_offbeat_anthem



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Canto Bight, Eventual Happy Ending, Original Character(s), POV First Person, POV Original Character, Resistance, The Force, cantonica, original droid character - Freeform, smuggler
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:35:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25873705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/one_more_offbeat_anthem/pseuds/one_more_offbeat_anthem
Summary: When Myra Leonosa, Resistance supply smuggler, heads to D'Qar to get her newest assignments, she finds a broken Resistance and her father, a mechanic, incapacitated. Determined to help her cause and find her father aid, she sets out on a quest through the galaxy and the war with her droid G-L7. Along the way, they wreak some havoc, get in a few fights, make interesting friends, and discover the truth about family.(Told from the POV of Myra, my OC—she is the narrator of my one-shot “A Little Help From His ‘Friends,’” where she is kidnapped by Kylo Ren to give him flirting advice. Portions of that story will be incorporated into this one--although that one is fluff/Reylo focused and this one is going to be a bit more intense and have lighter Reylo. This story spans TLJ and TROS.)
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 6
Kudos: 2





	1. Escape from D'Qar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Myra returns to the Resistance base on D’Qar following the destruction of Starkiller Base, where she discovers that her father was involved in an accident and is very ill. After being given a new list of planets that need supplies, she sets off to help them and find a cure for her father.....but not long after she leaves, something mysterious happens.

There is _nothing_ like a Cantonican light freighter.

Other smugglers may tell you there are even lighter light freighters, ships that require less fuel, ships that are easier to run from the First Order in—but nothing handles like the Beacon, my ship, and my theory is that if you’ve been seen enough to be chased, you’re doing it wrong.

I was thinking all these things to myself as I landed on D’Qar, (current) home of the Resistance. I’m feeling good—sure, the First Order still existed, but their base was destroyed, giving us time to regroup. I would get to say hi to my dad, fuel up, talk to the general about where to go next, and then take off again into space, the place I’m most comfortable.

Being a smuggler isn’t easy, but to me, it’s better than sitting around all day to fight for a few hours, and I can actually _see_ the difference I’m making.

I wasn’t the only person landing—the battle had been fierce, I had heard, through Resistance dispatches—I had been finishing my latest round of deliveries. My life went like this: every so often, I would get a list of planets that, due to the First Order, were running low on resources—food, medical supplies, parts for mechanics, the works. I would go to my suppliers, scattered throughout the galaxy, who smuggled the goods directly from the source, and then I would distribute them to said planets.

Ahead of me I could see the general, hugging my friend Rey. Well, friend was a stretch. Before I started doing proper smuggling, I helped my father out a lot with his mechanics work, and Jakku is a good place to find parts. We had met a few times, and once I became a smuggler, whenever a ship failure or run took me near the area, I would drop by and say hi. She didn’t seem to have much company, so I supposed she took what she could get, even if what she could get was a Cantonican smuggler with a giant scar down her face.

Wait.

Why was Rey here, on D’Qar, hugging General Organa? Wasn’t she supposed to be on Jakku, scavenging, waiting for her parents?

At that moment, the general released Rey and turned around to see me, “Myra!”

“General! Congratulations on a win.”

She looked down at her hands, her lined face seeming to suddenly age even more, “Not a total win…we lost Han.”

I gaped at her.

Han?

Han Solo?

 _The_ Han Solo?

The general took a deep breath and then released it, “Yes. I felt it, and Rey here saw it all. Have you two met?”

“Yeah,” Rey said, “She’s come to Jakku before.”

“That’s what I thought. Well, I’ll have your new list transmitted to your ship in no time, okay?”

“Thank you, General.” I followed her with my eyes before brushing my long curls out of my face and turning to Rey, “So, what brings you here?”

“Long story,” she said, “But I may or may not have beat Kylo Ren in a lightsaber battle.”

“ _You’re kidding!”_ I resisted the urge to jump up and down, as it didn’t fit my tough-girl image I liked to portray, “That’s the coolest, Rey. I’ve mostly been, well, flying around the galaxy, avoiding enemy fire, dumping supplies.”

“Which is even cooler. I mean, I’m glad to be here now, but…” she sighed, “I can see why you joined up sooner.”

I decided not to comment on the whole “lost parents” thing, but opened my mouth to say something else. Before I could get a word out, a commander ran up to me, “Myra?”

“Yes?” I said, turning towards him.

“I need you to come with me. It’s your father.”

*****

I wasn’t prepared for the sight I saw when I entered the base’s infirmary.

Laying inert on a medical bed, with wires and tubes coming out of him, was the one and only Lysander Leonosa, Resistance mechanic, the original, the blueprint.

And he was missing an arm.

I took note of my father’s scattered freckles, his greying hair, his closed eyes. If not for the tubes and wires, he could have been sleeping.

I looked up at the medic, “What happened?”

She shook her head, “He was working on one of the cruisers that went to Starkiller Base…there was an explosion, and it threw him across the engine room. We had to amputate his arm—it was infected badly by the time he was brought here.”

I took my father’s remaining hand gently in mine, “Do you—do you think he’ll live?”

She sighed, “I wish I had better news for you, but the honest answer is, I’m not sure. He’ll have to go on the medical freighter when we move out in a few hours, but—“

“Move out? What’s—what’s happening? I thought the battle went well! I thought we won! I thought—“ I stopped myself, “Will he be alright on the freighter?”

“Hopefully the transit won’t cause too much of an issue.”

“Okay.” I squeezed his hand once and then bent down to kiss his forehead, which was luckily not covered in wires. “I’ll come back for you….I promise.”

*****

“G-L7, wake up,” I said irritatedly as I boarded the Beacon again.

Instantly, he turned his cobalt head towards me, “I was never asleep, Mistress Myra.” He was a protocol droid that my father had helped me modify to have some security droid specifications. His blaster rested on the floor beside him.

“Cut the crap, G. We’re leaving D’Qar immediately.”

“But why?” He asked, following me to the controls, “I thought you were going to rest and see your father.”

“My father,” I said flatly, “Was injured. So we have to leave now, find somewhere he can go that’s safer than a Resistance ship or base. And then there’s our new list of planets.”

“But surely you could—“

“No.” I turned to G-L7, “Apparently this base is being abandoned. Somehow the First Order tracked it. I thought—“ I slammed my hands on the buttons, “I thought that maybe, just maybe, we could have a break, but this war never ends….G, you’re gonna hate this.”

“I am incapable of hating things.”

“Your receptors won’t think this is a good idea, then. We’re going to Canto Bight.”

If G-L7 had eyebrows, he would have raised them at me, “Forgive me, Myra, but do you really think that’s a good idea?”

“It’s where I’m from. It’s the best we’ve got. C’mon, load up the coordinates, set our course. I wanna get out of here.”

What I really wanted to do was get out of my head the conversation I had had with Rey before boarding the Beacon.

She had pulled me aside as I strode towards my ship, grabbing my arm gently.

“What?” I had asked, trying not to sound too irritated, “I’ve got to go.”

“I know, I just…” she sighed, “Everything is going to be okay, you know. Not everything went our way this battle, but I’m off to find Luke, and that will help. I know it will.”

“I,” I had replied, “Don’t care about finding him. He can’t help me and who knows if he’ll help us.”

“Myra, what do you mean?”

“My father,” I had pointed back at the buildings, “Might die! Because of this war! Because nothing can just…be a win!”

Rey had taken a deep breath, “One of my friends is in that infirmary, too.”

We had locked eyes, and she had smiled sadly.

“I’m sorry, Rey. I’m just…”

“Upset. Hold onto that.” She had pulled me into a hug, “And we’ll get to talk about it again, I’m sure, before this is all over. And maybe more afterwards.”

And then, with a wave, she had taken off towards the Millennium Falcon, which, despite being a Corellian light freighter, had a certain…panache in the smuggler community. Well, calling it a “community” was a stretch. It was more like a loose conglomeration of individuals who had agreed not to kill each other.

And now, the Beacon was taking off. Who knew if I would see D’Qar again—not that I would miss it. The longest I had ever been somewhere was Cantonica, on the outskirts of Canto Bight—but once unrest began to brew in a large way and the First Order scraped for power, we left at my father’s bidding to join the growing Resistance.

For the first time since leaving, I was going home.

“Prepare to jump to lightspeed,” G-L7 said, pushing forward the shifter, “…And we’re off.” He turned to me, “Myra, I sense emotional distress.”

“Do you now, G?”

“You know I do not have a family.” He looked at the hyperspace rushing past us, “But I understand that it causes you distress. I, too, would feel distress if, say, you were hurt.”

“Thanks for the sentiment.” I crossed my arms and leaned back, “I just hope what we find on Canto Bight is what we’re looking for.”

“Do you think the general will mind that it’s not on the heading she gave you?”

“She’ll live.”

“Myra!”

I glared at the droid, “What? I admire the general, I really do. But I also admire not losing anything more than I have to.”

We exited hyperspace at the edge of the Cantonica System. I sighed as I took over the controls again, “We’re going home.”

“It’s only your home.”

“Can it, G. And stop whatever you’re doing to clank.”

“I’m not clanking,” he replied.

“Wait here.” I stood up, pulling my dagger out of its sheath on my belt, “Man the ship.”

“Forgive me, mistress, but….perhaps a blaster would be better?”

“You fight with blasters, I fight with blades. You know the rules.” I knew he was shrugging as I walked into the belly of the freighter.

“Who’s there?” I called, “If you’re a stowaway, I can and will report you.”

No more noises….except for some breathing.

I waved my dagger, “Come out, come out, wherever you are…..we don’t like visitors.”

I saw a shadow, and then an outstretched, gloved hand, and then everything went black.


	2. The Interrogation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Myra finds herself captured by none other than the infamous Kylo Ren, who has an unusual favor to ask of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter lines up with my fluff fic “A Little Help From His ‘Friends,’” which Myra is from. Once again, that piece is condensed, Reylo-heavy, and a lot more relaxed. Some dialogue will be changed here to go with the tone of this fic. Enjoy!

I have to say, awakening on a First Order ship, handcuffed to a chair, was not my typical day—but when you’re with the Resistance, nothing is typical. 

I was studying the cuffs, trying to figure out how to escape, when I heard ominous breathing behind me. I rolled my eyes and mustered some faux courage, “Nice of you to join me, you goth space bastard. How’s it going? Gotten any more scars from amateur Jedi?”

Kylo Ren (because of course that’s who it is) walked—no, he _strutted_ —in front of me, “Don’t speak to me of that. Are you Myra Leonosa?”

I was terrified of the man, because he could end my life, get vital info out of me, ruin the Resistance in one fell stroke…but instead I just replied, “The one and only.”

“Do you know Rey from Jakku?”

“What do you want with her?” I raise an eyebrow, “Didn’t she just beat your loser ass in a lightsaber fight? Want to try and kill her again?”

“Are you her friend?”

“I guess?” I shrugged as much as the cuffs will allow, “I mean, I met her a few times when I was looking for parts and supplies—Jakku’s a pretty alright place to look for that stuff, but I don’t like to stay long. And she was a bit of a homebody, anyways. But I saw her just an hour ago—after she beat you in that forest battle. Are you sure you were ever trained?”

I wondered why he was asking me such odd questions. Surely he had gotten some information out of her and already knew some of these things.

“Shut up.” He paused in front of me, and then slowly took off his mask, balancing it in his hand, where it looked tiny.

He looked…..different than I expected. A little rounder, and the hair was definitely longer than anticipated. There was a softness to his edge—but he was also a mass murderer, I remind myself. 

Nevertheless, I was intrigued by how a face could possess such a structure and still seem warm, even with the hate that was apparent in his eyes. What truly struck me, though, was his scar that ran down one side of his face, through his eye. It made me think of my scar. Granted, mine ran over my nose, across my face, barely missing my left eye, but still. A scar. Like me.

“Why don’t you just torture locations out of me and get it over with?” I asked, “Unless you want some haircare tips. I say, don’t brush it after you shower.”

He glared at me, “I didn’t kill Rey when I first met her….I found her in the forest and carried her here….and in the forest, she didn’t just beat me….I offered to teach her how to fight.” He put his head in his hands, “Forgive me for being so forward, Myra, but I think—I think I like her!”

Despite the fact that I was still vaguely terrified and Kylo was known for his temper (and his flaming lightsaber), I started laughing hysterically. This man? Liking Rey? I could think of about sixteen reasons right there and then why that wasn’t exactly good news. Rey was headstrong, capable. If he couldn’t beat her and had kidnapped me purely to get this off of his chest, he was some limp excuse of a leader. Finally, I controlled myself, “You like her? Is that why you’ve kidnapped me, to have someone to confess that to?”

Kylo sighed, “I haven’t had a lot of experience with, uh, friends or people my age. The Knights of Ren aren’t exactly great company.”

“Yeah, your emo boyband of mediocre fighters? I’ve heard of them. They suck.”

“It hurts, but it’s true.” He smiled awkwardly, “Since you’re her friend—and, unlike her friend Finn, I didn’t try to kill you recently—I thought maybe you could give me some tips?” The smile looked interesting on his otherwise heavy face—heavy in the sense that whatever had led him to becoming _this_ had exhausted him.

I grinned back, “This is way better than I what I was expecting when I came to, so of course! What do you want to know?”

“How to uh, make her not hate me, maybe?”

“Hmmm…well, to start, maybe start murdering people she likes less. And stop trying to duel her. Those seem like the basics. After that, throw in a few compliments, show interests in her interests, continue to not murder people….and you’ll have it in the bag. Fair warning, though—she may be quiet, but she’s strong-willed.”

“Oh, I know. She resisted me and escaped. Using the Force.”

“Of course she did. That’s Rey!” I was pseudo-shocked to discover that Rey could use the Force—did she not know before now? Or had she just not mentioned it? And the Force reminded me of her mission to find Luke, wherever he was…and how I had said that the Force couldn’t help us. But she had used it to defeat him.

“I hope I see her again,” Kylo said, breaking me out of my thoughts, “She was….interesting.”

“Too true she is. Now, if you don’t need anything else, could you let me go? I’ve got Resistance stuff to do—unless you still want to murder me. And I want to know what you did with my ship and my droid.”

“Your droid?”

I narrowed my eyes at him, “Don’t tell me you’ve done something to G-L7. I mean, you’d probably know—he’d monologue about mortality and then self-destruct if you captured him. But you better not have captured him.”

“No, he’s fine….” Kylo shifted awkwardly, “The rest of the First Order doesn’t exactly know that you’re here…I kidnapped you myself. So your ship and your droid—G-L7?—they’re fine. Still out in space. I’m through with you, you can go—under one condition.”

“Yeah, I usually just call him G. He’s annoying. But, never mind that. Tell me your condition.” I raised an eyebrow.

“…..Can I call your ship if I ever need any more advice?”

I took a look at the wannabe Sith Lord in front of me and made a split second decision (largely based on trying not to encounter the business end of his lightsaber), “Sure. But don’t make a habit of it.”

******

A few minutes later, I found myself back on the Beacon. I had had no indication while being interrogated (was that an interrogation, really? Unsure.) how long, exactly, I had been out, but when I arrived and the hatch shut, G-L7 was sure to let me know.

His cobalt coating and one teal arm glinting in the freighter’s dim lights, he shook a finger at me, almost parentally, “You were gone for three hours!”

“Thank you for answering the question I didn’t have to ask. Look, I’m fine now. We might hear from that stupid Sith Lord again soon, though.”

“And why is that?”

I followed him back to our seats at the controls, “Promise not to tell anyone?”

“That is an order, so I must obey it. Also, who here would I tell?”

“It’s the principle of the matter, G. The stupid man wants relationship advice, or something like that. I don’t understand it myself.” I began punching buttons to route us closer to Cantonica, “But that doesn’t matter, because we escaped his clutches surprisingly intact, what with the amount of information we possess, and now we’re leaving.”

“What if he comes back?”

“He won’t,” I said grimly, placing my dagger on the ship’s dashboard, “If he knows what’s good for him.” I swiveled to the droid, “He told me he likes Rey or something. And maybe he does, maybe he really has good intentions. But for the time being, as far as I’m concerned, he’s still a sort of murderous snake. He’s got leadership in the First Order. So I’m not trusting him farther than I can throw him.”

“I have heard he is quite tall, so you could not throw him very far.”

“I could throw you,” I said waspishly, “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Suddenly, my holo-caller began to ring.

“Who is it?” I asked the ship.

“Call from Kylo Ren.”

I slammed my hand against the dashboard, “ _Already?!_ Answer it.”

Kylo’s face and torso appeared—he looked harried. “Myra, you’ll never guess what happened.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed chapter 2, even if it lined up a lot with the other fic! In the other fic, I also stretched time out a lot, since TLJ takes place over a handful of days, not a few weeks, but that was on purpose for the style. For this fic I’m sticking more to the actual timeline of the canon—so be ready for more hijinks soon!


	3. Mistakes Made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After arriving on Cantonica, Myra deals with some unwanted guests and a little bit more chaos than she bargained for.

“No ‘hello?’” I shot at Kylo, “Since I’ll never guess, tell me.”

He took a deep breath, “I just….I don’t know how to explain it, but the Force connected Rey and I—I could see her and she could see me, and we could talk. And we did! I tried to do what you said—I said I could see only her, which was both a statement of fact and from the heart, and—“

I cut him off, “What did she say in response?” I didn’t have time for his meandering sentences—for someone who was known for being more of a lightsaber-stabber than anything else, Kylo had a lot to say.

“Uhhhh….” He grimaced, “She called me a murderous snake. Well, she shot me first—this was the second time the Force brought us together.”

“I mean, you did just kill your dad.” 

“Don’t remind me.” He sighed, and for a second I saw how tortured he must be, but no—he’s still one of the head honchos of the First Order. I’m only doing this to keep from dying.

“Okay, well, that was a good start, I guess….do you think the Force will connect you guys again?”

“Uh….I hope so,” he says, “I’d like to see her face again….she’s so….pretty doesn’t cover it…..I don’t know what to say! What do I say?” 

“You could try and tell her that, I guess.”

“Hm. I’ll give it a go! Thanks! Bye!”

“Goodb—“ Before I could finish, he ended the call.

I rolled my eyes and continued the mapping.

“Do you really think he likes her?” G-L7 asked me.

“As an entity that is unable to like, what do you think?” I replied.

“I am able to find things pleasing to my logic circuits. For example, I like you.”

“But you don’t like me in the way living beings like people.”

“Hm.” The droid looked out the window thoughtfully, “I think that he seems well-intentioned, if over-eager. His murderous tendencies may prove unhelpful as he quests for love.”

“You’ve got that right.”

The descent into Canto Bight was no problem.

Even though I hadn’t been back in years, the sights and sounds of this casino city were instantly familiar with me, and my old hatred began to rise. I hated how most here had to scrimp and save, scrapping their lives away—like my father and I had. I hated how people got rich off of war—both sides of the war. I hated how this city had stolen away my mother, given me this scar.

No, she had chosen to leave.

I shook my head, “C’mon, G. Let’s get in, get out.”

“Are you really sure there is a suitable place for your father here?”

I glared at him, “This is home, and the furthest removed from the war you can get. No one’s blowing up Cantonica—not when most of the arms dealers in the galaxy operate out of here. We’ll find some boarding house in a slum with a room, pay the rent, go get my father.” _And then he’ll live to see the end of the war,_ I thought.

“Hm.” G-L7 offered no more thoughts on the matter.

We made it out of the network of landing pads to the main streets. I pointed at the massive casino complex, “That’s where dreams go to die, where the arms dealers spend their days racking up bigger wins and drinking while the rest of us lose.”

“But surely someone will win the war,” he said.

“No matter who wins, people on both sides suffer. There’s probably someone on the First Order side worried about a parent or a loved one, just like me.” I clenched and unclenched my fist, and then spotted—“Oh shit.”

“What is it?”

“The Valyeda.”

Approaching us was a group of masked figures. The masks were made of some dark green material, and they all wore necklaces with a symbol that was sort of like a flower and sort of like a gear.

I dropped my voice, “A gang. They specialize in terrorizing outsiders for money. If we can evade them…”

“Look, it’s Leonosa!” One of them called.

“Crud,” I muttered, and G-L7 turned to me,

“It seems as if these people know you.”

“No shit, G. Get out your blaster.”

The apparent leader of the group swaggered up to me, “Myra, Myra, looks like you got yourself a fancy droid. What’s brought you back?”

“None of your business,” I spat, “Who are you, anyway? Or are you too afraid to take off your mask?”

“You know who I am….. _My-Le_ ,” he replied, “But you don’t want to remember, do you?”

“Why I—“ I sprang forward, swinging my fist into his face. He swayed, but didn’t move, and without speaking, the rest of the gang descended upon me.

I tried not to scream, but I needn’t have worried—there were a few blasts, and suddenly the group scattered, leaving me, the leader (who I now had tied up in his own cloak) and G-L7, patting his blaster.

“Okay, Nowles,” I said, ripping off his mask, “I want you to tell me how to get into the main casino and talk to Zimon.”

He tried to shake me off and failed, “Why would you want to talk to him?”

“It’s about my dad. And it’s the least you can do, after this.” I gestured up at the scar crossing my face and stretching my features, “Alternatively, I could have G-L7 blast you.”

“Fine, fine….you can go into the front entrance for free, but you look a little too scruffy—there’s a side workers’ entrance a couple of blocks over, should be no problem to get in, at this hour. Too early in the morning for a lot of questions.”

I heard some kind of commotion on the next street, in the direction of the main entrance, so I released his collar.

“See you soon?” Nowles asked.

“Over my dead body. G, rough him up.”

G-L7 nodded and shot Nowles in the leg once. He screamed and I glared at him, “Be glad I didn’t tell him to go for the kill, even though it’s what you deserve.” I flipped him off and turned away, “C’mon, G. Let’s go.”

G-L7 sheathed his blaster as we walked, “So he is the one who gave you the scar?”

“Yeah,” I replied, in a tone that I hoped made G-L7 understand that I didn’t want to talk about it further, “I hope he wasn’t lying to us about the entrance.”

As it turned out, Nowles wasn’t—and it was easy enough to get in without any ID (anything’s easy enough if you have blasters). G-L7 and I made it to the main gambling floor with no problems, where I knew Zimon would be drinking near the racetrack viewing area. Before we could get very far, though, there was a commotion. We turned around and—

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” G-L7 said in the driest tone that a droid could muster, “But isn't that BB-8?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry that this took me so long to update! I maybe should have written it all before posting the first two chapters but what's a girl to do? I've also been more invested in writing supernatural fanfic (sorry!) but I will finish this story! hope you enjoy this chapter and the next one will be up soon! 
> 
> (also sorry it's short I'm trying my best ;-;)


	4. Gotta Run Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Myra gets a chance to speak with Zimon--but some complications lead to a quick departure from Canto Bight, and an unexpected addition to the team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took me a million billion years to add the next chapter! I'm currently ballparking that there will be twelve chapters overall? I'm not sure. anyways. enjoy??? (Author’s update this ending up being seven chapters! oh well!)

“Nope,” I said to G-L7, “You’re absolutely correct. That’s BB-8. How is he here, unless Dameron is….wait.” I could see two figures near the droid. One I recognized from mechanical work before I became a smuggler—Rose Tico. The other I didn’t know, but he sort of fit the description Rey had given me of her new friend Finn….

“Perhaps we should leave?” G-L7 asked, “And not get associated with any Resistance trouble? They appear to be getting arrested.”

“We came out of our way to talk to Zimon, and we’re going to talk to Zimon and find a place for my father,” I said, “And that’s that. C’mon, don’t act suspicious.”

Of course, that was easier said than done, since we weren’t exactly clothed in a way that made us inconspicuous. Well, G-L7 wasn’t clothed at all. He was a droid.

We pushed through the crowds to the racetrack, where the fathiers were pounding their way around it. I instantly spotted Zimon, leaning against the railing over the viewing box, a flute of bubbly drink in one hand. He was still, years after I had last seem him, a formidable figure—a sweep of dark hair over his forest-green skin, a close-cut suit of blood-red.

I walked up to the railing, sweeping my hair out of the way, behind my shoulder, before propping my elbows on it and saying conversationally, “So, who do you think’ll win?”

Zimon turned his head slowly, “Myra. I did wonder when you would be coming back. You’re looking for a job?”

“No,” I said, “I already have a job. I need a place for my father.”

“Oh?” There was a newfound arch to his eyebrows, “What’s happened to him?”

“Injured,” I said, “Working. Do you know of somewhere he could go? With medical care?”

“It would be expensive, Myra.”

I glared at him, before lifting up one of my hands, “You owe me a favor. For this.” I traced my scar, tearing my face apart, with my finger, “You know, I just ran into your nephew on the street.”

His face turned back to the race, “I haven’t spoken to Nowles in…years.”

“Since the accident?” I sighed, gathering strength, “You protected him, and now it seems he’s in charge of the Valyeda. Don’t tell me you know nothing about that.”

Zimon shrugged, “It would still cost you. I’ll have to think about it.” He stood up fully, draining the rest of his glass and putting it on the tray of a passing-by waiter, “I’ll think about it, okay?”

As he strode away, joining a group at a gambling table, G-L7 came to stand next to me, “No luck?”

“He says he’ll have to think about it.” I sighed, dragging my hand down my face and adjusting my yellow bomber jacket,“I just want to know that Dad’ll be safe.”

G-L7 placed a metal hand on my back, “It’ll be okay.”

“G, are you trying to…comfort me?”

“Is it working?”

I let out a laugh, “I guess so.”

We stayed and watched the races for a while, and then, suddenly, Zimon reappeared. He stared atme, and then said, “I’ve decided.”

“And?”

“Your father can come. For free.”

I smiled, “That’s what I thought. But thank you.”

“And now…” He gestured to the track below, “Things seem to be getting out of hand. You should go.”

As I looked down at the track and saw a cluster of faithers galloping in every direction, escaping the track, with two small riders, I had a sinking feeling that somehow it was related to the chaos with BB-8 we had seen earlier.

I turned to G-L7, “Let’s get out of here.”

We made our way back to the worker’s entrance we had used before, but taking a different route this time. As we walked past a hall indicating that it led to the stables for the faithers, I heard crying.

“We should stop and check,” G-L7 said.

“We’re a bit crunched on time,” I said.

The crying got louder and G-L7 glared at me (well, insofar as much as a droid could glare at someone.

“Fine!” I drew out my blaster, “Let’s get this over with.”

When we rounded the corner, there was a little boy curled up on the ground, in dirty brown clothes and a little hat, and he was crying, his shoulders shaking.

G-L7 turned his head to me in a facsimile of an “I told you so,” and I glared back, before kneeling on the ground next to the boy and putting a hand on his shoulder, “Hello?”

He jerked up, staring at me with wide brown eyes, tear tracks cutting through the dirt on his face, “Who are you? Are you—are you going to hurt me?”

I shook my head once, “No. Are you alright?”

“I—“ he hiccuped, “I let the faithers out, to help the nice lady from the Resistance, and now I’m going to get in some much trouble…” Another sob racked his body.

I had heard stories, growing up here on Canto Bight, of what happened to kids who got pressed in servitude in the casinos. They were either orphans or kidnapped—it was a horrible business.

“Do you have a name?” I asked.

“Temiri,” he said, hiccuping, “And I’m going to be in so much trouble.”

I made then a split second decision that I would probably regret later. I held out the hand not holding my blaster, “My name’s Myra. Do you want to come with me? I’m with the Resistance.”

There was a moment of hesitation, but then we heard voices coming down the hall, and the Temiri grabbed my hand, “Yes.”

I scooped him up in one arm, balancing him on my hip— _were kids always this heavy?!_ —and ran down the hall. We burst out of the service entrance onto the side street. Luckily, there was no one—no Valyeda, no wayward Stormtroopers, nothing.

When we got back to the Beacon, I deposited Temiri into one of the seats, buckling him in clumsily—they were designed for adults, and it was kinda settling into me that I had _randomly picked up an orphan child_ —before flinging myself into my captain’s chair and flipping switches.

“Myra, it says here that you have messages,” G-L7 said, looking at my holo-caller.

“From who?” I replied distractedly.

“Kylo Ren.”

I rolled my eyes, “Play ‘em.”

Kylo’s face floated into view on the hologram, “ _Myra, sorry if you’re asleep or something but Rey may have seen me shirtless? It was an accident. And very embarrassing. If you have any tips. Let me know.”_ It cut off, and then the next one began, _“So! We held hands! Can you believe? I’m on cloud nine, honestly. Don’t really know how to go from here, but, uh…I’m excited.”_

I looked at G-L7, and then back at the now empty holo-caller, and then back at my droid, “We don’t really have a choice, do we?”

“No, unless you want a murderous guy chasing us.”

I pressed the controls to call Kylo back, “Keep the kid quiet. I don’t want to put him in any more danger than we have to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> temiri is actually the name of the boy--his full name in the film is temiri blagg, it's a riff on the actor's name--Temirlan Blaev. if you didn't realize, this is the boy that helps Finn and rose escape, and is shown using the force at the end of TLJ!


	5. Finding Shelter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heya, folks! sorry that it took me AGES to get back to this fic, but I lost all motivation. today, however, I rewatched the last jedi, and I recently got the Star Wars encyclopedia set for my birthday, so my mojo is back. I pulled the rest of this fic out, and that's that! I hope it tickles your fancy :)

As soon as I called Kylo Ren back and his face was floating on the Beacon’s holo-caller, I started in on him. “You can’t just expect me to always answer, dude. There’s a war going on, one that we’re on opposite sides of, in case you forgot in the midst of your crush?”

He frowned, “Don’t you want to hear how things are going?”

“Yeah, sure. Hit me.”

“Well, we talked again. Which was great, you know. I guess. It was a little awkward….I was changing, so I wasn’t wearing a shirt…”

“And let me guess, you have on stupid high-waisted pants?” Despite my weariness, I started laughing, “That is _excellent_. Was she impressed?”

“Uh…she asked if I had a towel. So I don’t, uh, think so.” He was blushing, I could tell, even over the holo-caller, “And then we talked again…..I bared my soul, told her about when I left my Jedi training, a real bonding moment….I think she’s starting to actually listen to what I have to say!”

“Well, that’s great. So what do you want to know?”

“How do I keep this connection going?”

“I say, support her. She’s going on this whole Jedi journey alone, you know, and she’s strong, but she wouldn’t mind having someone in her corner. You can use the Force—granted, you use it for bad—so you get her, you can relate.”

“And I can read her mind with it, if I want.”

“ _Don’t_ do that, okay?”

“Okay. Sorry that I, uh, woke you up.” He waved awkwardly, “Bye!”

“Bye?” I ended the call.

The little Sith-turd is growing on me.

Kylo Ren is _awkward_ , that much is for sure. With his deep voice and threatening appearance, I expected him to be more of the strong, silent type, but it seems like he can talk to me, albeit in a weird way. Dude got his childhood ripped away, and this is what it left him as.

Well, I shouldn’t let myself forget that he’s a Sith Lord.

******

The next time my holo-caller rang, it wasn’t not too much later, so I didn’t even bother to ask the ship who it was. I simply said, “Accept call….Hello, Kylo,” while I shooed Temiri out of sight with G-L7. I still didn’t want Kylo seeing the kid, since he was in the business of murdering people.

(Kylo, that is. Not the kid.)

“Hi, Myra. Well, something _supremely_ exciting has occurred.”

“Pray tell.” I flipped a few switches on the control panel and spun my captain’s chair to the wall switches.

“ _We held hands_. And then Luke came and I’m pretty sure he wanted me dead, but uh….we held hands. And I told her she wasn’t alone! And we talked about our feelings!”

I rolled my eyes, “How old are you, man? Have you never held hands with a girl before?”

“Like I said, I haven’t had much of a chance to make friends or anything. Snoke, he found me and trained me after I left my uncle….he was a lot. Lots of rules.”

“Has it ever occurred to you that maybe, just maybe, Snoke is a bad influence? I’m not saying you should murder more people, but if you _do_ murder more people, you should think about putting him on the top of the list.”

“Huh,” Kylo said, “That’s one way to look at it, I guess. Anyways, I feel like we’ve just been building so much of a relationship with this bond—and I actually like that I’m never wearing my helmet. I feel free, you know?”

“You don’t wear your helmet when you talk to me,” I pointed out.

“I always call you after I talk to her….And I guess in a way, you’re my friend.”

“We’re not friends,” I replied flatly, “Did you miss the part where I work for the Resistance and you’re one of the leaders in the First Order?”

“But we _could_ be friends,” Kylo said, slightly hopeful.

“Maybe if you were less evil. That also might help you get Rey, you know.”

“I’m trying! She says she sees light in me. Maybe she’s right. Anyways. I’ll think about what you said about Snoke.”

“Bye,” I said, sighing.

“Bye!”

I contemplated switching on a blocker, but I didn’t want Kylo to lose his shit and come after me, since I had heard that he could be a bit unpredictable.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t gotten any transmissions yet from the Resistance about where we were headed next, since D’Qar was out and the First Order was on our tail, so I told G-L7 to set our course for D’Qar for the time being, made Temiri a pallet next to my bed, and then I fell into a restless sleep filled with thoughts of saving my father and the war finally ending.

******

I woke up the next—who knows? Time is weird in space—to G-L7 looming over me. If protocol droids could have grim expressions, he would have one.

“It’s Kylo Ren,” he said, “Again. Why did you agree to this?”

“To make sure we didn’t die.” I hauled myself out of my sleeping chamber, made sure that the still-sleeping Temiri was tucked under his blankets, and headed to the Beacon’s cockpit.

Kylo Ren seemed to be in a mood. Unlike the last few calls, where he had been bouncy, he was now despondent.

“I thought there was progress!” I said, trying to cheer him up, lest I feel his wrath, “I mean, you guys were really connecting.”

“And we could have connected more…..I had my chance, and I _blew it._ ” He put his head in his hands, “It was all going so well, Myra. She came to my ship, came to me! So I cuffed her and took her to Snoke—“

“What!?”

“Wait, wait, it gets better! We had a really great conversation in the elevator—she said that she believed I could be good again. And I thought about kissing her—but that would have been sort of forward, right? And I had just handcuffed her and all, so that’s sort of awkward….Well, I don’t know what came over me when we got to Snoke’s throne room, but when he ordered me to kill her…I killed him instead!”

I pumped my fist in the air, “Good job, buddy! So where did things go wrong?”

“We fought off all his guards back-to-back—she even saved my life a few times. She’s so good at fighting, isn’t she? And so beauti—I’m getting off track. I offered her my hand, I even told her she mattered again….but she rejected me.”

“What _exactly_ did you say?” I lean forward.

“Uh….I said that she was nothing, but not to me.”

I coughed, “Kylo, you _cannot_ tell the girl you like she’s nothing, even if you follow it with something nice! Of course she didn’t take your hand! I mean, did you sweeten the deal by turning to the light?”

“Uh, no, I wanted her to rule with me….”

“Rey is a woman of values, you fool.” I stammered, “I mean, you not-smart man. Don’t murder me, okay?”

“I won’t,” he said despondently, “But there’s something else…”

_“What?”_

“I, uh….declared myself Supreme Leader instead.”

I smacked my forehead with my hand, “You know what you are, Kylo? Wait—what’s your full name? Your real name? Your non-goofy name?”

“….Ben Solo. But I thought you all already knew that.”

“I knew your last name would be Solo. But everyone on the Resistance base was sort of quiet about you—General Organa was mourning the death of your father, in case you forgot that you murdered him. But anyways. _Ben Solo, you are a blithering idiot._ Once again, please don’t kill me.”

“I’m beginning to think that she was wrong, that there’s not any light left any me….how could she see it? I mean, I’m just as bad as you say.”

“Or maybe not,” I replied soothingly, “You could always use your new position to do less-evil things.”

“Maybe. Well, I hear there’s a battle happening on Crait, so I have to do my job or whatever. Bye, Myra.” He ended the call.

I almost felt sorry for the guy.

Almost.

Because less than an hour later, I received a distress signal from Crait using General Organa’s special code,

And then I received a transmission from the Falcon—the Resistance, or what was left of it, was headed for the jungle moon Ajan Kloss.

Either we’d found help, we’d escaped, or we’d lost big time.


	6. Recovery Potential

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> note: this chapter is set one year later--this is when the fic jumps from TLJ to TROS :)

**_ONE YEAR LATER_ **

I woke up to an arm tugging at my sleeve and a little voice saying, “Myra? Can we have breakfast? I’m hungry.”

I sat up, rubbing my eyes. My scar ached—it hadn’t done that in years, not since I’d gotten it in…that fight. With Nowles. I briefly wondered how he and everyone else in Canto Bight was doing—I never intended to go back there, not anymore. Not after—

Not after my father’s death.

As soon as I touched down on Ajan Kloss, I was informed that everyone had been evacuated to the main Resistance cruiser during the escape from D’Qar, including all the patients from the medical cruiser—causing a lack of equipment.

Costing my father his life.

Had I been there, instead of searching for refuge in Canto Bight, I could have saved him, maybe.

The death of Lysander Leonosa meant that I was completely, utterly alone.

It had been hard, at first. G-L7 had to remind me to eat, he flew the Beacon on our missions. Taking care of Temiri was actually one of the things that helped me—I saved him, so he was my responsibility. I had to care for him.

I opened my mouth to tell Temiri we could get breakfast in a second, when I was fully awake, but before I could speak, G-L7 came into the Beacon. We always slept on it, even when we were here, on base, on Ajan Kloss.

“Breakfast will have to be quick,” he said, “Bad news.”

“What is it?” I grabbed my jacket from its hook, bent down to slide on my boots and lace them. I often slept in my clothes—it was a necessity during war.

“General Organa is incapacitated, and there is a fleet of new First Order ships on Exegol. We're flying there soon.”

“We are?” I raised my eyebrows, started to braid my hair to get it out of the way, “What can we do to help?” I had just come back from another smuggling mission.

“Everyone is flying there. An army is assembling.”

*****

I had figured that I would neverhear back from Kylo Ren—or, as I started calling him in my head, Ben. I heard he dueled with a vision of his uncle on during the Battle of Crait, but the details are blurry. I learned about the outcome of that battle at the same time that I heard the news of my father. Those weeks run together.

But, nearly a year after the last call, right as we’ve gotten out of Ajan Kloss’ orbit and are preparing to chart a course to Exegol, my ship computer told me, “Call from Kylo Ren.”

“Really? Answer it…..hi, Be—Kylo,” I said, “What’s up?”

“Nothing much.” His mood was much surlier than the last time we talked, “Just, you know, messing things up, as per usual.”

“Uh…what’s happened this time? I heard you decided to become pals with Palpatine…dangerous stuff, dealing with that guy.”

“I know. But I have no choice. Well, I’m sure you know why I’m calling.”

“Either you heard from Rey or you’ve decided to kill me.”

He laughed hollowly, “The first one. Well, I saw her at a festival on Pasaana, and then later outside the city there…..I’ve learned something terrible, something I can’t tell anyone but I feel like I need to tell her….but I didn’t want to believe it, so I pushed her, and she used Force lighting and got really upset…I’ve screwed it up.”

“I feel like you screwed it up before this, Supreme Leader.”

“Hm.”

“Well,” I rooted around for something to say, “At least you saw her again, right? And you didn’t try to kill her?”

“No….but I still feel bad. And what happened proved my worst fears were true.”

“Care to share with the class?”

He shook his head, “I can’t—I can’t even think about saying it aloud. But I’ll have to. I have to tell her—because I learned something else, something good.”

“What’s that?”

“We’re a dyad in the force—that’s why we’re connected. Maybe our souls were made for each other—I mean, there was a prophesy about this and everything. Maybe it’ll work out after all.”

It was my turn to smile grimly, “I just hope it turns out with you turning to the light and not her turning to the dark. No offense, but I want you to lose this war.”

“None taken.” Kylo cleared his throat. “How are you, by the way?”

“How am I?” I took a deep breath, “Terrible, dude, terrible. My father is dead now because of this war, because _you_ can’t get your shit together. Go find someone else to talk to about your wanna-be girlfriend. You don’t deserve Rey. You never have.”

*****

After my outburst, I expected Kylo Ren to never call me back again—or destroy the Beacon in one fell swoop. Instead, less than an hour later, as we’re drifting through space, waiting for more coordinates (no one thought to tell me until we were in space that Exegol is sort of, well, _hidden),_ the holo-caller rings again.

I didn’t even get a hello, instead, he instantly started talking, and I was caught so off-guard that I didn’t think to remove Temiri from his seat on my lap, “I offered her my hand again, and she didn’t take it! She didn’t take it! I told her the secret and that’s probably why!”

“What is the secret, you under-inflated Sith beanbag?”

He stopped, “What sort of insult was that?”

“One to make you shut up and focus. Now, what did you tell her?”

“Well, I saw though our Force bond that she was in my quarters—we may have dueled again. So I went to my ship, and there she was in the hangar—just us and some stormtroopers. So I told her the truth—she’s….she’s a Palpatine, Myra. She’s his granddaughter.” He looked like he was about to cry.  
“Oh, buddy…..” My heart fell. Rey, a Palpatine? What if she fell to the dark side and all hope for the Resistance was lost? But I stomached my fear, because Rey was strong, far stronger than anyone gave her credit for, “Well, did you also tell her the dyad thing?”  
“Yeah…but she left with her friends. I’m gonna go find her, though. It’s kind of a long story—but I know she’s looking for a Sith wayfinder to go to Exegol and confront him…Maybe I could help her get there faster.”

“Don’t do anything rash,” I advised.

“Have I ever?”  
I raised an eyebrow.

“Who…” he gestured at Temiri in my lap, “Who is this? You’ve never mentioned having a child.”

“This is…Temiri,” I said.

“Hi, Temiri,” he replied, his voice softer than I expected with a kid, “I’m Ben.”

It occurred to me that Temiri had only seen images of Kylo Ren with a mask on—he had no reason to be afraid of this man, with the scar down his face so similar to mine and the sad eyes. Ben.

“Hi,” Temiri said softly.

“Where did you get him?” Kylo asked.

“Rescued him from Canto Bight. I’m from there. I was going to…find my father a home. Last year.”

“Your father that is dead because of the First Order?”  
I nodded, swallowing tears that always threatened no matter how much I tried to harden my grief. “He was a mechanic. Taught me everything I know.”

“Sounds like a good guy.”

“He was. The best.” I sighed. “Good luck…Ben.” I hung up.

*****

It was even sooner when the next call rolled in, and I almost didn’t recognize the man. Kylo Ren has lost his signature jacket and cloak, he had a massive hole in his shirt, and was completely soaked. There was a sort of manic energy. Of course, I could understand that—here on the Beacon, we had finally gotten more coordinates to Exegol, so soon the battle could really begin.

“Hey, buddy,” I said hesitantly, “What’s up?”

“So many things—I destroyed the wayfinder, and then Rey stabbed me, and then she healed me because we felt my mom die, and then I saw a vision of my dad, and then I threw away my lightsaber—“

“Wait, General Organa is dead? That means Poe Dameron is in charge, doesn’t it?” I let out a stream of air, “He’s a fool if I’ve ever seen one. A good guy, and a good leader when pushed, but a fool. Sorry. Keep going.”

“Well, I’m going by Ben Solo now, for real. Rey stole my ship and flew away—I don’t know where. I think she feels bad about stabbing me. But she healed me, and told me that she did want to take my hand, _Ben’s_ hand, so I think she likes me still—anyways. I’m going to Exegol to see if she goes there. I’m going to help her defeat Palpatine. I stole another ship.

“You’re going to _what_?”

He looked at me seriously, “Do I need to say it again, Myra? I’m gonna go help her defeat Palpatine.” And then he ended the call.

I stared off into the space where the holographic version of his face just was in shock.

 _What_ was happening?


	7. An Ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's that xP this story was shorter than expected, but I still had fun with it and now this block is out of my brain :) it was bugging me that I hadn't finished it, but now I have! also nursing ideas for a reylo college au...or more myra? I'm partial to her and her narration. anyways, enjoy!

As it turned out, _what_ was happening was a rapid-fire battle on Exegol that I semi-unwillingly took part in. I usually make a it a rule to aim for self-preservation, but when the entire fate of the galaxy rides on enough people fighting, well…I joined the action.

G-L7, Temiri (yeah, bringing a kid to a battle was maybe not my best “parenting” move), and I, along with the Beacon, partook in the fierce fight to take down the First Order ships while Rey fought Palpatine (with the help of Ben, that I knew).

It was touch and go, but eventually we had friends from all over the galaxy, a rag-tag army if anyone had ever seen one, join us, and we fought the battle that would eventually win us the war.

I was starting to understand why my father had always put himself in danger and tried to teach me as much as he could about the world.

It was with a much lighter heart than when I left it that I found myself on Ajan Kloss once again, this time to celebrate, instead of stopping over from a smuggling mission. I knew that somewhere out there, my father’s spirit was watching, and he was proud of what the Resistance had done.

I missed him, of course I did. I didn’t think I was ever going to _stop_ missing him, because he was like one of my limbs, of vital importance to me and my heart.

But we had done it. We had not only lived to fight another day, we had made it to the end of the fighting.

I got off of the Beacon, G-L7 at my heels and Temiri, still slightly shaken from his parental figure bringing him into battle, in my arms and surveyed my surroundings. Around me, people were cheering, celebrating, hugging each other—I even saw a few people kissing.

Lieutenant Connix ran up to me, “Myra! So nice to see you again!”

“Nice to see you too, Lieutenant.” I fist-bumped her with my non-child-holding hand, “Nicer to be done with this war—although I’ll probably keep smuggling. Old habits die hard.”

I kept walking, kept waving at various people. I eventually set Temiri down—he’s not as much of a little kid as he was when I got him, now that he’s properly fed. I saw Poe Dameron and felt two percent bad about calling him a fool. He did, with that Finn’s help, lead us out of this. Suddenly I found myself crushed into a hug.

“Myra! I haven’t seen you in forever!” The hugger steps back and was Rey—covered in dirt, with a bloody forehead, but Rey nonetheless.

“Hey there,” I replied, grinning, “Guess you made it out?” Then I saw the figure standing next to her—it was Ben, and he’s smiling sheepishly. I noticed they were holding hands.

“Yeah…oh, Myra, this is Ben—formerly Kylo Ren, you know. Ben, this is my friend Myra.”

“Oh, yeah, I know.” he said.

“Wait, you guys have met?” she asked.

“He kidnapped me once. It’s kind of a long story.”

“You can say that again,” I replied, and then we all grinned at each other.

“Oh, this is Temiri,” Rey adds, pointing down at the boy, but Temiri is already tugging on Ben’s shirt.

“Ben?” He asked quietly, “Can I show you a magic trick?”

“A—a magic trick?” Ben crouched down until he was eye-level with Temiri. “Sure.”

Temiri picked a blade of grass off of the forest floor and set it one of his little palms. He stared at it intently, and it stood up on an end and began to spin.

“Oh,” Ben said, smiling, “That’s very cool.”

I stared at Temiri. I had seen inexplicable things happen in my ship, thought I saw a glass floating—but had always assumed it was the tiredness making me lose it.

But no, this little boy— _my_ little boy could use the Force.

“Did you know?” Rey asked, “When you found him?”

I shook my head.

“Then it must be fate.” She grinned at me as she spoke.

“Perhaps,” I said, fitting my hand into Temiri’s as Ben straightened back up, “The two of you can train him.”

“Perhaps,” Rey said, and now she was smiling at Ben, and his smile back, well…it was something, alright.

That night, when I headed back into the Beacon with G-L7 and Temiri to go to sleep, I was bone-tired from all of the fighting and the following celebrations—but it was nice to have something to celebrate again, something to jump around and sing about. We were going to have to set up a newer, better Republic—one that couldn’t be bowled over by remnants of the First Order like the New Republic was by remnants of the Empire—but that would come in time. At the present moment, after tucking Temiri into his bed that I eventually designated for him so that he didn’t sleep on the floor, I was so sleepy that I very nearly missed the note on my pillow. Written in slanting handwriting, it said,

 _Myra—We fought off Palpatine together—well, she did most of the work. I was emotional support—and I fought off the Knights of Ren (didn’t you call them a emo boyband once?). And then she died, and I brought her back to life with the Force. And then we kissed_. _I know you’re probably laughing at this, but it was kind of a big day for me. Thank you for all your advice and help—and for being my first real friend. B.S._

I guess _maybe_ the former wannabe Sith lord-Supreme Leader-goth space-bastard turned savior-helper is my friend.

If you really stretch the meaning of the word.


End file.
